Airship.



W. J. DE LA MARE.

AIRSHIF.

APPLICATION man senz, 1915.

Patented Apr. 10, 1917.

4 SHEETS-SHEET l.

A TTORNEY W. J. DE LA MARE.

AIRSHIP.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT-2, 1915. 1,221,841 Patented Apr. 10,1917.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

\\` /N VEN Tag,

Arregui-Y W. 1. DE LA MARE.

AlRsHlP.

APPLICATION FILED stPLz, |915. 1,221,841.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

Patented Apr. 10, 1917.

W. J. DE LA MARE.

AIRSHIP.

APPLICATION FILED sI-:PT.2. I9I5.

Patented Apr, 10, 1917.

Fly. .5:

W/TNE'ssas WILLIAM JAMES DE LA MARE, OF DES MOINES, IOWA.

RSHIP.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 10, 1917.

Application led September 2, 1915. Serial No. 48,628.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that WILLIAM J. DE LA MARE, citizen of the United States ofAmerica, and resident of Des Moines, Polk county, Iowa, have invented anew and useful Airship, of which the following is a specification.

The object of this invention is to provide an improved construction fordirigible air ships. l

` A further object of this invention is to provide improved means forraising an air ship to a higher elevation by direct upward travel.

A further object of this invention is to provide an improved manner ofmounting a freight and passenger car relative to the body of the airship.

My invention consists in the construction, arrangement and combinationof elements hereinafter set forth, pointed out in my claims andillustrated by the accompanying drawing, in Which- Figure 1 is a sideelevation of my inproved air ship. Fig. 2 is a bottom plan and Fig. 3 atop lan of the same. Fig. 4 is an end view o the air ship, on anenlarged scale. Fig. 5 is a central longitudinal section of a portion ofthe air ship, on a further enlarged scale.

In the construction of the air ship as shown a frame is composed ofsuitable members 10 and is covered with plates 11, preferably ofaluminum, to form a body or gas bag, which is relatively long andnarrow, being preferably about two hundred feet long, seventy-five feethigh and sixteen feet wide at its widest part. The'body is also soarranged and constructed as to be sharp pointed at both ends and at itstop and bottom, so that when in motion it cuts the air like a knife, andis capable of attaining a high rate of speed, the friction with the airthus being reduced to a minimum. The aluminum plates 11 of the lowerportion of the body comprising a distance of a proximately the lowertwo-thirds of sai body, are covered with steel armor plates 12. Acombined freight and passenger car is mounted in the lower portion ofthe body and is formed with a deck or floor 13 and ceiling 14 separatingthe car from the gascontaining portion of the body. The deck 13 isapproximately seventy feet long, and occupies the entire width of thebody at a of entrance and exit relative to the car.

height of about eight feet above the lower line of said body, whichtapers to a lmife .edge therebeneath'. Thus the car and its contents areeffectively protected from attack from beneath, as the tapering sides ofthe lower part of the body will cause any projectiles cast against it toglance off, as they are reinforced by the steel armor plates 12. Thesides of the car, between the deckfor rotation in the car and adapted tobe driven respectively by said prime movers. A plurality of horizontalpropellers 25, 26 are mounted on and Xed to vertical shafts 27, 28projecting 'from the bottom of the body of the machine, and saidpropellers preferably are arranged in two rows, one on each side of thelower line of said body, and are in this instance eight in number ineach of said rows. The propeller shafts 27, 28 are connected to andadapted to be driven by the drive shafts 22, 23 respectively. The shafts27, 28 are journaled for rotation in bearing brackets 29 fixed to andprojecting laterally from the sides of the body above the lower knifeedge thereof. The propellers 25, 26, which are here shownconventionally, are of the accepted type except that they are arrangedfor rotation on vertical axes, and it is their function, workingtogether, to drive the machine upwardly in a direct line and on an evenkeel. Vertical propellers 30, 31 are mounted on and fixed to shafts 32,33 respectively, at opposite ends of the body or gas bag. The propellersat each end preferably are arranged in two vertical rows, one on eachside of the tapering ends of the body and spaced therefrom, and aredesigned to drive the machine selectively in opposite directions asdesired, without turning it around. The propeller shafts 32 areconnected to and adapted to be driven by the prime mover 17, and thepropeller shafts 33 are connected to and adapted to be driven by theprime mover 20, said prime movers being located at opposite ends of thedeck 13 and adjacent Vthe propellers which they drive. The propellershafts 32, 33 are jourtude.

naled for rotation in bearing brackets 34, fixed to and projectinglaterally from the sides of the body, and suitably braced thereto.

The interior of the-body of the device is divided,y into a plurality ofgas compart-K ments 36 (see Fig. 5), and each of said compartmentspreferably is not more than twenty feet in any dimension. A plurality ofgas generators 37, 38 ofv common form, in this instance two in number,are mounted in the lower part of the body just above the ceiling 14 ofthe car, and are designed to generate a suitable gas, lighter than air,and supply it to the various compartments 36 through valve-controlledpipes 39. The gas compartments 36, which are of gastight construction,are also provided with outlet pipes 40 leading to vents 41 in the top ofthe body, and provided with valves operated by cables (not shown)leading to the deck 13. rlhus gas may be permitted to escape fromcertain of the compartments as desired, particularly in the operation ofcausing the machine to assume a lower alti- Pressure gages 43 aremounted in the car and are connected 'to the various gas compartments36, so that the operator may determine at any time the pressure of gastherein and control the same as desired.

A plurality of circular wells such as are formed on the median line ofthe body and between the gas compartments thereof, and lead from theceiling 14 of the carto the top ofthe body, where they communicate withcircular latforms 44 mounted on the top of the devlce. In this instancethe wells 45 and platforms 44 are three vin number, but any desirednumber may be employed. In each well 45 is formed a circular staircase46 by which access-may be had from the car to the platforms, a por tionof one of these stairways being shown in Fig. 5. A folding or fiexibleladder such as 47 leads from the deck 13 to the lower end of eachstaircase 46, thus conserving space in the car. A gun or cannon 48, ofany suitable type and caliber, is mounted on each of the platforms44,'and. said guns vare swiveled so that they may be pointed in anydirection for effective use.

Rudders 49, 50 are pivoted on vertical axes at opposite ends of the bodyand are. connected by. suitable cables 51, 52 to the car, from whichthey are selectively em-4 ployed by the operators for steering thedev1ce, depending on which set of vertical time. l

Spaced ground wheels 53, 54 are mounted beneath the device, and each ofsaid round wheels is carried by a fork 55| co nected propellers is beingemployed at a given slidingly to the body, and a coil spring 56 period,of twenty-six days. I estimate thatl the device so constructed willattain a speed of seventy-five miles per hour in vertical movement, andonehundred and fifty miles per hour in horizontal travel.

lts further advantages and conveniences will be readily apparent tothose familiar with machines of this kind.

ll claim as my inventionl. An air ship, comprising a gas-containingbody, said body being formed of a frame covered with plates, said-bodytaper` ing to a knifev edge at its top, bottom and both ends, togetherwith propelling and steering means for said body.

2. An air ship, comprising a gas-containing body, said body beingattenuated to a bevel edge at its top, bottom and both ends,

a set of vertical propellers mounted at each end of said body andadapted for selective operation to drive said body in oppositedirections, a rudder mounted at each end of said body, a set ofhorizontal propellers mounted beneath said body and .adapted to propelthe same upwardly, and means for selectively operating'said sets ofpropellers.

3. An air ship, comprising a gas-containing body, said body beingattenuated to a ybevel edge at its top, bottom and both ends,

